Past Present Future
by Lumira Constance
Summary: Her powers were greater than Clow's. Look into the future and see what she has learned and suffered. Rated T simply for sake of content which is mainly death related


Past – Present – Future

"Arigato, Sakura-chan."

A tall man with light, brown hair murmured slowly to lovely, young woman next to him. She merely looked at him with affection and something like sadness in her eyes. The two were slowly working away in the garden next to their house. She was pruning rose bushes and he was watering the flowerbeds. Every now and again, Sakura would glance at the brunet man when she stopped for a short break.

Her father was nearing the end of his life soon and she knew it. The deep well of emotion that grew within her heart over many years knew the feeling of grief quite well. She was certainly no stranger to it. Young as she looked, she had already lived for well over 200 years and still she was not in the prime of her life yet. She had lost many dear friends during the last century; each and every one hurt her heart a little. But at the same time, as a young woman with lovely black hair once said, she did not hold on to sadness for long – it simply was not her nature. Then, Sakura wondered, was it her nature to forget pain and the memories with it?

However, she knew full well that her father had lived a long and full life. Having been the reincarnation of one of the world's greatest magicians had its perks. He lived longer than most humans and could see the spirit of Nadeshiko whenever she came to visit. Best of all, he had more time with the daughter he loved so dearly. But Sakura knew as well that a human man, even one of her father's extraordinary origins, had an end. With these thoughts in mind, Sakura was fairly certain she could handle his death.

On the other hand, she had seen so many deaths already. She feared sometimes that her heart and her warm nature was growing cold and unfeeling _because_ she had in fact experienced it so often. That she didn't hold on to sadness because she had so often experienced it. All her friends – Naoko, Chiharu, Rika, Yamazaki – all had died years earlier. Even her dearest friend, Tomoyo, was gone. But the death that hit her the hardest was that of her brother. After giving all his magic to Yue, he had none left himself, none to prolong his life. His last words were simple – and heart-breaking.

"Tell Yuki I love him. Take good care of him and Otou-san, Sa-…ku-…ra…"

And with that, he was gone. Even as she thought about it now, her green eyes welled with silent tears. Sighing softly to herself, she wiped away the tears and stood up. Stretching to get the cramps out of her back, she turned to her father and said,

"Otou-san, it's getting late. We should probably go inside."

The man turned to her and smiled softly.

"You're probably right but the weather is so lovely and the flowers are in full bloom. Perhaps a few more minutes? These colors remind me so much of your mother…she whispered to me last time that she was coming to see us one last time…"

He trailed off and continued smiling at his daughter. Sakura could only smile back sadly and consented to let him stay in the garden for a little while longer while she went back inside.

"Well, don't stay out here too long. You might catch a cold. I'll see you inside."

With that, she turned away and began her solitary walk to the house. Suddenly, her father stopped her.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?"

Sakura turned back, surprised. She couldn't help herself,

"How did you-"

The man laughed again,

"-know? I'm your father after all."

Sakura could only smile. Oh how that saying brought back memories.

"Don't worry, Otou-san, I'm fine. I'll be inside if you need me."

She turned away smiling and continued towards the house. As she walked, the happy expression slowly slid off her face to be replaced by one of immeasurable pain and grief. Uncontrollable tears began to form in her eyes. As she neared the house, the tears began falling and coursing down her rosy cheeks. By the time, her hands touched the cold handle of the door latch, tears had clouded her vision and everything was a swirl of brown, green, and grey.

She knew then that she wouldn't see her father again until her own death many years later…

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"Sakura? Sakura, what's wrong? You've been crying."

Inside the door, a young man with brown hair and dark eyes hurried toward her. Of all the people she had known since her childhood, Syaoran was the only one left. How he had been with her all this time, Sakura didn't know. All she knew was that he'd been with her since the beginning. Every battle and every tear, he'd been there. When she fell, he screamed and cried for her. Perhaps, it was the bond of deep love the two shared that preserved his life for so long. All she knew in her heart of hearts was that Syaoran would be with her unto death, even beyond it perhaps.

"Syaoran…Syaoran…Syaoran."

She couldn't say it. Saying it out loud would mean admitting it was true. He simply looked at her with compassion and empathy. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her.

After a few minutes, Sakura's emotional barriers broke and she began to sob into his shoulder. The crying roused her guardians who quickly to find their mistress distraught and in pain. A golden winged lion and an extraordinarily beautiful young man with pale silver hair and violet eyes watched her cry sadly.

"Sakura?"

Syaoran only quietly shushed the lion and slowly walked the crying girl in his arms to the next room. A walnut door revealed a warm sitting room and a softly crackling fire. He softly steered towards a burgundy sofa in from of the fire and sat down with her. The golden lion settled himself at her feet while the silver-haired young man took the spot on her other side.

The curious trio watched quietly as Sakura's sobs slowed and eventually stopped. She looked around at the beings grouped around her. She was grateful to say the least that Mr. Reed had been so kind to leave her with companions in her long years. She understood now why he made both Cerberus and Yue. From her memory of what she saw so many years earlier, she saw him with no one else except Cerberus and Yue.

Yue suddenly spoke up.

"We won't be seeing Kinomoto-san again will we?"

Sakura shook her head sadly. Yue placed a gentle hand softly on her shoulder. His normal stoic violet eyes filled with remorse, he felt some pain of his own seeing his beloved mistress in so much pain. She knew that he would understand how she felt, having experienced a similar loss years before they met.

Sighing again, Sakura began to speak, finding that she now needed to put her words into reality.

"I'm sad. For the first time, I'm sad and this feels different. All my life, I've felt some kind of sadness and it's melted away. I remember when I confessed to Yukito-san and he rejected me, you helped take away the sadness, Syaoran."

She looked earnestly into her beloved's eyes.

"I remember when I cried for Toya, you stopped my tears, Yue."

She turned her gaze to the silver-haired guardian. His eyes softened and he dipped his head briefly in deference to her.

"Kero-chan…Cerberus, you reminded me after I found out about Yue's near-death that we're all friends and friends love and care for one another."

Her misty green eyes turned to the golden lion settled on the dark rug. He smiled and nodded.

"Clow Reed had many gifts and I still think sometimes that I still don't match up to his abilities. But one thing I think we shared was this bond with other people and beings. I never would have reached here without support like what I got from all of you. This is will continue to happen and every time it does, tears will fall from my eyes and my heart will bleed a little. But, we'll be together and with your strength added to mine, I'm sure I'll be alright."

Saying her invincible spell that she herself had gotten from Clow Reed so many years ago, Sakura reminded herself of the strength of love, bonds and a strong, warm heart.

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On a spring evening not unlike the one where our story began, the sun smiled upon the same house. Red roses were blooming in the bushes and yellow tulips were showing in the flower beds. Nearby, underneath an oak tree, a woman with lovely green eyes and a man with brown hair were lounging in the shade with a golden winged lion and a young man with violet eyes and silver hair.

After a while, the woman stood up and produced a pink book. She set the book down and beckoned the two guardians to her. She leaned in and held the two to her while she sighed softly. The lion seemed to say something and she only smiled stroking his magnificent head. The silver-haired young man bowed his head and his shoulders shook with silent tears. The woman placed both hands on the young man's face and wiped away his tears. She then leaned in and whispered in his ear. He nodded placed a kiss on her cheek before she pulled away.

Stepping out from underneath the oak tree, the woman pulled a key from her pocket and called out an incantation. The key transformed into a staff topped by a golden star.

She turned and beckoned the remaining three to her. The man handed her the book while the two guardians stood near her.

She began another incantation. This time, a large magic circle appeared beneath her feet encompassing her and both of the guardians. The golden lion and the silver-haired young man rose in the air and suddenly white wings wrapped both in feathered cocoons. The pink book hovering before the woman glowed and both of the guardians disappeared. The golden lion was now represented by a winged lion on the front of the book while the young man was shown as winged crescent on the back. The light faded and the woman reached out to take the book.

She gently kissed it and touched it with her staff. At this, the book shimmered and disappeared.

The woman turned to the man who was waiting for her. She slowly walked to him and her wrapped his long arms around her. She whispered in his ear and he smiled.

Pulling away slightly, he leaned down and kissed her. The couple began to glow.

The light suddenly intensified and after a momentary glare, it faded.

The couple was gone.

All that was left were sakura petals dancing away towards the setting sun.

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Hello everyone! I've been gone for a while, I'm sorry. With my senior year almost over, I'm hoping to get back to finishing my fanfictions. This particular little story came to me over break and I just now finished it. You can see it as an end to Cardcaptor Sakura if you like. For me, it was more of a short treatise on grief, death and how one handles it.

Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or critiques, feel free to leave a review!

Arigato gozaimasu!


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